The owner of the Daily Mail has seen its shares surge after it said revenues for the full year could be higher than previously expected.

Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), owner of the Mail and other titles including Metro, raised its revenue outlook but also saw pre-tax profits more than halve as it reported its figures for the six months to March 2019.

Statutory pre-tax profits slumped by 55% to £50 million for the half-year, as it was hit by “a £72 million reduction in the share of profits from joint ventures and associates”.

Total revenues declined by 3% to £724 million for the period, due to the impact of disposals such as the sale of real estate data business EDR last year.

The company said it sold fewer newspapers during the six months, with circulation revenue slipping 2% to £144 million, as falling sales were partially offset by a 5p increase to 70p for weekday editions of the Mail.